Cleaning and Organizing

Although I had been nesting like crazy before Tony was born, it was Bonnie's party over at House of Grace that really got me into the idea of putting more of an organized schedule to my cleaning rather than just cleaning one thing like mad. Then... well, then I had my beautiful baby boy. Who at one month out is nearly 10 pounds!! I cannot believe my preemie boy who was supposed to be in the NICU is now a little chunker! Praise God! So, I'm starting a little late with her party, but I'm going to try to catch up.

And... I will have to show you my redone (AGAIN) living room. Shortly after Tony was born, I realized that the baby stuff was taking up too much space the way everything was arranged. I wanted my kids to be able to play and enjoy the space, not be constricted by stuff. I will post pictures if ever I can find a time when it is not cluttered with toys.

Anyway, now that I'm getting adjusted to caring for two little ones, I decided that I'm going to get organized once and for all.

We're down to a fairly good schedule of:

Getting up, getting changed and having breakfast.

Having another round of pants changes and a snack after two hours.

Another round of changes and lunch after another two hours and an attempt at nap (right now Auds is fighting sleep and I just can't fight with her - and it is a fight - to sleep when her carrying on wakes her brother. If she doesn't nap, she doesn't nap. I'm okay but not thrilled with that at this point.)

Snack # 2 after nap.

Outside play time.

Make dinner and prepare for that night's activities. On Monday it's prayer meeting and choir practice, Tuesday it's weeknight service, Wednesday it's musicians' practice, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are work nights for me and we rest on Sunday

I've also created cleaning schedules broken down into daily, weekly and monthly tasks.

Daily I hope to, in addition to keeping us alive, accomplish:

Make the beds

Wash the dishes

Wash the laundry

Sweep the kitchen and dining room

Pick up toys

Clean the cat boxes... well I delegate that to my husband ;)

Weekly I've divided things into days things should be accomplished:

Monday: Dust and windows/mirrors

Tuesday: Sweep/vacuum floors/furniture

Wednesday: Wash bedding and bath stuff

Thursday: Bathrooms and yard work... again delegated to my husband ;)

Friday: Put away laundry and meal planning (basically figuring out what needs to be bought at the store for the planned meals)

Saturday: Shopping and a catch up day if something happens and a task doesn't get done during the week

Sunday: Garbage

To be done once a month, I've scheduled:

Scrub bathtubs

Wash shower curtains

Organize/purge playroom

Organize outgrown clothing

Organize entertainment center (my husband has a habit of watching something and leaving the DVD on top of the TV and the case for it on top of the radio)

Organize pantry and cabinets

Scrub baseboards

Discard expired food items

Wash garbage cans

Vacuum curtains

Wash blinds

I figure if I keep up on all of these things, that it'll get easier and easier to keep a clean house while getting to spend time with my babies. I want to give them not only my affection, but a place that doesn't look like it belongs on "Hoarders" (I've never seen that show, but I've heard about it).

I also decided to create a general meal plan that we can add specifics to to follow that way it can never get to the "what are we going to have" stage.

Mondays:

Breakfast - cereal

Lunch - PB&J sandwiches with veggies/fruit/organic crackers/etc.

Dinner - red beans and rice

Tuesdays:

Breakfast - organic waffles

Lunch - macaroni and cheese with some vegetable

Dinner - a crock pot meal

Wednesdays:

Breakfast - toast and nutella/peanut butter/jam/etc.

Lunch - rice and gravy

Dinner - salad

Thursdays:

Breakfast - fruit

Lunch - grilled cheese sandwiches

Dinner - a pasta meal

Fridays:

Breakfast - organic yogurt

Lunch - organic convenience foods - I LOVE Annie's and Amy's stuff!

Dinner - homemade pizza

Saturdays:

Breakfast - cinnamon rolls

Lunch - meat and cheese sandwiches

Dinner - a casserole

Sundays:

Breakfast - toast and nutella/peanut butter/jam/etc.

Lunch - a crock pot meal

Dinner - brinner - it's a Sunday night tradition of ours

So, this week's challenge is: Organizing Your Life

We're supposed to ask ourselves:

What and who is important to me?

That would be Jesus and my family. Pretty much everything revolves around those two.

What motivates me?

Jesus motivates me to be a better person and to draw closer to Him daily. My husband motivates me to be a better wife for him. He really is a stand up guy. My beautiful babies motivate me to be a better mommy - especially now since Auds is emulating how I act with her and Tony in caring for all of her babies. If she ever mistreated her babies, I think I would cry... so far, so good! And my clients motivate me to be a better photographer.

What do I want to accomplish in my life?

Ensure that my family knows, loves and lives for the Lord and is loved beyond measure. Eternal salvation is the ultimate goal. Also to be successful in my field.

If I could change anything in my life, what could it be?

Honestly, I'd make myself better. I'd be a better organizer so that I can keep track of things better and spend more quality time with those I love and things I love doing. I'd also change my reaction to my upbringing - *too personal here* - but I had a rough childhood that greatly affected some areas in my life. Although God has brought me miles from where I was through His love and grace, I still struggle sometimes. I don't want my kids to see that in me.

Make a list of your top 10 priorities:

"Your priorities should reflect what is important to you. If you don't decide what they are, others will decide for you. " That is some strong stuff right there.

God

My Savior is the most important thing to me. In addition to just believing, I make it a point to pray every day with my family, alone, anytime, really. We say grace at every meal. We go to every service at our church. My husband and I teach Sunday School and lead worship. We go to practices at the church as well as practice at home on Sunday evenings together - it's like a worship service at our house. I want our kids to know that we make our lives around the Lord, not make the Lord into our lives.

Husband

He is truly my match in every way and sometimes I wonder if I don't show him enough. I always make it a point to tell him that I love him multiple times a day and be affectionate with him. But I want to try doing more to serve him and be a helpmeet to him. He does so much around here to help me and I want to be able to do the same. Dating isn't really an option at this season in our lives, but I do try to make and bake him things periodically "just because" to let him know how much I love and appreciate him.

My Children

They are my miracles and can make me both the happiest person alive and the most frustrated. Be honest, we all have THOSE days. I just want them to always know that they are loved immeasurably - something I never had.

Theology

I know this plays in with God and with our church, but I want to view this as a separate topic because not only do I want to have a relationship with Him and serve Him, but I want to understand Him (as much as is humanly possible since He is greater than our confines) and His Word. There is such power in the Word and such direction for our lives. Since He provided it for us, I want to get as much out of it as I can. I also hope to be able to use this knowledge to reach and teach others.

My Church

My husband and I are active in our church and my husband is a minister. Right now we've been in the position of Sunday School teachers and worship leaders but have been on the receiving side of being blessed by others. One day I'd like to be a blessing to others and give to them as they have given to us.

My Family and Friends

I'm of the school of thought that while you can't pick your family, they're still family and you still have to love them. So I try. I'd like to get better at reaching out more. And I do have the most amazing close friends. Granted, I can count them on just a few fingers. But they are there through thick and thin and are SUCH a blessing in my life.

My Business

I have a great business and get the opportunity to both be at home with my babies and be creative. I love it and could never go back to a standard office job. It is taxing (ha! I'm working on taxes right now... well, I thought it was funny.), but so rewarding. I've made a lot of changes in the past year and plan on doing more this year to give my clients the best.

Health

I use only all natural products in the house, try to eat organic and local as much as possible, cloth diaper, mama cloth, breastfeed, homeopathic remedies, etc. Although I don't belong on a compound in Berkley, I'm trying to give my family the best and keep them healthy. I had a lot of health issues when I was younger, so I'm hoping to avoid that with my children.

Family Sleepovers

I started this tradition in January and plan on keeping up with it until our kids are grown and out of the house. One Friday a month we won't plan anything in the evening. We'll order take out, bring the mattresses in the living room, put a movie in and have a sleepover - just us. As the kids get older, we'll do games and activities. But, right now, watching Beauty and the Beast for the 1000000000th time as I cuddle my sweet babies and sing the songs with Auds is as good as it gets. And, of course, after the kids go to sleep my husband and I get to cuddle too.

Reading With My Kids

The playroom has somewhat of an enviable library. Seriously, it is ridiculous how many books we have. But that's a good thing. I loved books growing up, and the love of literature is one of the things that my husband and I share. Granted "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" isn't "Torents of Spring," but it's all about baby steps. And I'm instilling the love of books young in hopes that they will enjoy it when they're older. When Auds is quiet now, it's a 50/50 chance she's either reading her books or getting into trouble. I love it when it's the first one.

Being Debt Free

I'm not gonna lie, we have debt. Most of it is either from my husband before we got married or incurred through his going to one of the best law schools. Either way, we're working diligently on paying it all off. We hope to be there in a few years and be able to comfortably buy a forever home sometime within the next decade.

A Nice Home

Granted, our house is only about 1500sf, isn't in a ritzy subdivision or newly built. But I don't think that's all that makes a nice home. I want my kids to know that this is a sanctuary - not in the sense that a church is, but that it's a safe place. That underneath this roof there is love, kindness, hope and acceptance. I also want to make it a nice house for them... nicely decorated, clean, a place they can feel comfortable in and proud of.

My "Island" and Curtains

I mentioned in earlier posts about my unfortunate door incident and my love for my new kitchen island. This post will show both.

Now, you'll have to excuse the grain in these pictures. We have very little natural light in our kitchen. But, I think you'll get the idea.

First I'll discuss my make shift curtain door...

The fabric is actually really pretty with flowers and birds and deer. I thought it was fitting being in the country. Plus, in my studio area which would be behind and to the left of me as I took this picture has a window seat where the walls are painted red. And the back office is red as well. So, this color ties it all in.

And there's also Cheeto's behind.

Anyway, we finally got the other door fixed, so it's back up there. I'm glad I had the curtains for the two weeks we were without a door. They provided some sort of privacy. But, they got moved from here. I didn't want to waste them though, coz I thought they were cute. So they got moved to the doorway between the kitchen and my office. You'll notice them here:

And this is my "island." Ain't it purdy? Not only do I love having some extra space to work, but I love the vintage feel. And it definitely fits with the oldness of our house. The paint on it is a blue/grey and the counter top is very loved. But, I think that gives it character. On top is my beautiful basin and pitcher that my husband picked up for me when he picked up the island.

Another shot, you ask? Sure! Please disregard my mess of cook books, apron hanging, wok top laying on the rag box and messy bulletin boards.

And because I love my pitcher and basin. :)

Re-Organized Dishes

If you have cabinets in your house, feel free to disregard this post. We have a grand total of three in our house. Seriously, three cabinets. One is for pots, the other is for your standard under the sink stuff, and the last is for candles and frequently changed out mini home decor items (because I have NO place else to store them). And all three of these cabinets are on the bottom underneath the counter top. I didn't feel like stooping down to get dishes every time I needed one. So, that's why I'm glad out house has the original built-in china hutch.

This is where all of our dishes and glassware are contained. The part on the bottom? That's my pantry/cookware storage area. Yup, everything from chicken stock to organic coconut oil to cookie sheets is in that area. And, yes, it is held shut by a hair tie because my super strangely smart daughter has figured out child safety locks.

I didn't take before shots, coz I'm a bad blogger. But I'll tell you what I changed... aside from Auds' pink princess plate and her bowls, there's no more mess of plastic! Yes, I had all of her cups up there with the rest of our glasses. And it was quite an eye sore.

So how did I remedy that?

I took out silverware out of the drawer and put the milieu of plastic cups in there. Out of sight, out of mind. I took three coffee mugs and put our spoons, butter knives, and forks all in their own mug. You would think that this would take away from our coffee drinking habit, right? Not at all!

Why not? Because for some strange reason that I still haven't figured out, we have 20+ coffee mugs! We could have coffee every day and not wash dishes and still not run out of mugs for over two weeks.

But doesn't it look much nicer to only have one big, ugly plastic thing as opposed to 50 million? I think so!

Moral of the story: if you don't have any cabinets, or if you have too many coffee mugs, use them as storage. The possibilities are endless - silverware, pens, kitchen nick nacks, craft stuff... anything, really.

Pretty Soap

One thing that bothers me, or has been bothering me lately, is how UGLY dish soap bottles are. Seriously, they can't make them look nicer? I really don't like having a ginormous plastic bottle with a big sticker on it and residue dripping down the side coz my husband can't keep the soap either in the bottle or on the sponge. He's gotta spread it around like peanut butter.

Anyway, I think I'm still nesting (I am still supposed to be pregnant after all) coz I've been spending my days cleaning and reorganizing. So, here's the first of many projects. I have found a solution to the ugly soap container problem!

First, find a vinaigrette. It can be one you have on hand, one you find at an antique store, or the one like I bought at Wal Mart.

It was $3.

Next get some fake flowers. I bought some baby's breath that was ridiculously over priced because I didn't feel like driving 45 minutes into town and back to go to the Hobby Lobby. If you don't have a multiple hour trek, I'd totally recommend that though coz their fake flowers are much more reasonably priced.

Just snip off some of the flowers, stick them in and pour in your soap. Easy peasy. I know, this isn't by my sink. The sink had dishes in it and who really wants to see a pile of dirty dishes, right? So, you get to look at my turnips and Auds' puzzles in the background.

Now, if you have a dishwasher, this may not even be something you thought of. But for those without that luxury who are tired of having ugly soap, here is the solution! Viva la revolution! Oy... can you tell I get no more than 2 hours of sleep a night? Ha!

Happy Birthday!

The weekend after the weekend my son was born was my daughter's birthday weekend! This made me very thankful that I had hired someone to do our party! See, I figured that with such a short time to go between her birthday and my due date, that I wouldn't want to have a party at our house. The lady who owns the place where we do our Mommy and Me classes also does birthday parties, so I told her to do everything. Just make it fun and Elmo. And she did. And boy am I thankful!

Things were so crazy that we didn't even get to give anyone invitations! Seriously. We got the invitations at our Tuesday class. Wednesday my water broke. Wednesday through Sunday we spent in the hospital. Monday we had our first day at home as a family - and nothing got done. Tuesday my husband took Auds to her play class so that we wouldn't disrupt her life too much. Especially since I didn't renew our membership with Tony coming. Wednesday we spent the whole day at the doctor and the hospital. Thursday we had bilimachine treatments. Friday we had bilimachine treatments and spent more time at the hospital. Saturday was the party. Talk about a whirlwind!

But it was nice that it was just her closest three friends who's parents I told ages ago to hold the date for us. All the kids had a wonderful time!

Here's my birthday angel! She even had a special Elmo shirt for her Elmo party! Isn't she just adorable?

Me and my teeny tiny guy. You can tell how jaundiced he is in this picture - and this is after treatments and his levels went down 4 points (praise God!) The ring sling is on loan from his Nanny. I have a custom mei tai being made, but it isn't ready yet. He's much too small for the Beco and the Hotsling swallows him. So, she brought her ring sling for me to borrow until I can get my carrier that he'll actually fit in.

Auds and her friends colored Elmo's for their craft project.

Her cake. I would have loved for her to have a low-sugar organic one like I got her last year, but since I wasn't planning it, this is what we got. I'm okay with that. It was cute and it's not like she get sugar like this everyday. Or regularly, for that matter.

Man, did she ever enjoy that cake!

After cake it was time to open presents. Thankfully, with such a small party she didn't get too many toys. She still hasn't seen all of her presents from Christmas. Actually, all of these are still in the back of the car. Oops.

After presents our fabulous party planner made all the kids hand spun cotton candy. She has her own machine and it was nifty. Auds didn't like it. It was too sugary for her. Good girl, Auds. Good girl.

Once the kids finished their cake and cotton candy (I also brought fruit and organic treats, but those were hardly touched, go figure!), Elmo came out. This was actually my mother dressed up as her present to Auds. Because we met Elmo at the zoo last year, she went right up to "him" and gave a big kiss like they were old friends.

Me and my littles. I love them so much! I think Tony was just so excited about the party that he wanted to make sure he was there. :)

He's Here!

Admittedly, I am writing this up early. It's not that I really want to get on top of things to make up for my latest cold weather-induced paucity in that area. No, it's more like because Tony had plans of his own. That's right, little mister man is sleeping in his Moses basket right next to me as I write this!



Everything was going as normal. I blogged a little Wednesday while my MIL was over for her weekly play date. She gave us some money for dinner and Honey picked up some handmade burgers from a local restaurant on the way home. We decided to have a family picnic in the living room and watched Gilmore Girl DVDs.



Auds was playing on the rug, Honey was watching her adoringly and I was laying on the couch coz my back was hurting. Nothing was out of the ordinary. That was until 820 when my water broke! I darted off to our newly curtained bathroom, certain of what happened but trying to convince myself that it was something else. ANYTHING else... I was only 35 weeks! I had another month! I had every.last.minute planned before he came. I had a client meeting this Saturday, Sunday School lesson to teach on Sunday, choir activities this week, Auds' birthday party the next Saturday, more preparing, play dates and church stuff during the week, client meetings across the state the weekend after that, church BBQ fundraiser the weekend after that, a rehearsal dinner on my due date and a wedding the day after. I had things to buy, nesting to finish, quality time to spend with Auds... I wanted to buy a homecoming outfit, a present for Auds from Tony, and about a million other things.



So, I decided to wait around to see how much more would come until I decided to call in. When it wasn't showing signs of stopping (like it would, I was just giving myself false hope), I called my doctor. I wanted to let her know about it and find out where I was supposed to be going. I had no idea. I had never been to the hospital before, no tours, no preregistration, nada...I was going to do that after my next appointment. So, once she gave me directions, we packed up our little family and headed out.

Audrey was so nervous she had to give herself pep talks. The entire time we were packing and driving over she kept repeating "Tony brother coming out. Baby coming. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. Mommy's gonna be okay." It was the cutest thing. She kept up her positive mantra through the emergency room exit, around the hospital, and up to our room. She stayed with us until about 1:30am when my mom arrived from across the state. Poor baby was so nervous. Anytime they came in to do monitoring (I had it done intermittently since I wanted to move around in labor), she would crawl on the bed, cuddle with me, and start repeating that it was going to be okay. Nothing happened super quickly, so my husband slept. I watched infomercials and prayed.

My doctor came in the next morning and told me that I had 36 hours of labor on my own to get him out. If it didn't work, we would talk interventions. So I walked, I bounced, I had my husband rub my special amazingly good smelling labor oil on me. My doctor let me eat since she knew I was going to sit there the entire 36 hours and however long after to deliver without meds or a section; she let me keep my strength up. But, nothing happened. I was having contractions, but they weren't doing anything and I couldn't feel them at all. Starting at 24 hours, I had to get penicilin shots to ward off infection. I'm not going to lie, those things hurt. And they stuck me in the lower back which caused big hard lumps that BURNED. I did the stairs up and down the floors just trying to focus on something else other than that pain.

Probably around the 35 hour mark, I started getting nervous about what could go wrong. Was I making the right decision in keeping him in as long as he wanted? Should I go ahead and agree to be drugged even though I knew in my heart it wasn't what needed to be done? What else could I do? Was I going to hurt my baby? So, I hired a doula. Yeah, I'm that last minute. haha. But, she is the owner of the cloth diaper company my best friend works for, so she came in quickly. My best friend was also freaking out, so she drove with the baby June despite my protests. I was hoping that they would arrive before my doctor got in so I could have some help processing what was going to be given to me for options, but that didn't happen.

I told my doctor I had hired a doula and she said that at this stage in the game, I couldn't do any of the homeopathic stuff. If I wanted to, I could leave the hospital and deal with the risk of infection at home if it took a while. But that she had to make an intervention to protect the baby. She offered me cytotec and pitocin, knewing that the word "cesarean" was not to be spoken. I have heard horrible things about cytotec, so I opted for the pit. Because of that, I had to be hooked up to the IV and the monitors and had my food and drink priviledges taken away. My doula arrived first, then my friend and baby June and then my mother brought Auds by.

We all hung out the entire time. I would bounce, stand, kneel, walk around in my little 6 foot radius that the cords gave. Audrey would take the birthing balls from me so she could play with them and she stole diapers from June so she could diaper her elephant she brought. All the wires made her nervous, but she was a trooper. The entire time my husband worked on cases, I conducted emails with clients, and just hung out. The nurse kept upping my pitocin, waiting for me to cry uncle.

It started at 3 m/u per minute then 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24... and I didn't really feel a thing. I told her that my pain was a 2 on a scale of 1-10 just because I could feel them. My contractions weren't looking like they wanted to, with big peaks and valleys, 2-3 minutes apart, lasting 6o seconds each. Nope, they were all close together. She didn't think that anything was going to happen. Neither did I, neither did the doctor. Heck, even my doula said it'd likely be a few more hours before I delivered. She picked 9pm, this was at 4pm. My crazy friend though called it at before dark - and dark was a little over an hour away.

Around this point, my little girl started to get hungry, so I said long good-byes and she and Grannie left to go get dinner and head home at 4:30pm. The nurse came in and bumped me up to 27 m/u/m, and that's when I just started to feel uncomfortable. It wasn't unbearable, but it was the first time in 44 hours of labor that I started thinking, okay, maybe he'll come in a few hours. Really, it made my injection sites hurt the most. Those shots were the most painful thing out of the whole time.

So, my doula got out her TENS unit and placed in on my back to help manage the pain. It was once the TENS unit was in place that my injection spots stopped hurting the most, but then I started to feel it in my belly. For the first time I could feel what I thought were supposed to be what contractions felt like. The rest of everything was all in my back - and most of that was from those shots.

This lasted just a few minutes when I felt like I had to use the restroom. So, they unhooked me and I went in and closed the door. I could hear everyone talking outside about what things would be like in the next few hours since it finally seemed like the ball was rolling. It was no big deal.

Well... that ball sure started rolling. I called out "Um... help!?" It took a few times for anyone to hear me through the door, but soon my husband came rushing in. That baby was crowning! I told him that, and he told the doula who called the nurse. No one believed that it was the big moment. The nurse just said, "Okay, we'll check you." I had been at 1cm, 50% effaced just a little while ago. That statement quickly went into one about how much hair he had!

They rushed around getting everything ready... well as ready as they could with such short notice. My sweet friend and her little one got kicked out to the hall and out he came. Well, rather, I kicked them out. I love her, but I didn't want her to see all my business. Within a few minutes, out he came. It really was not as bad as I thought it would be. Apparently, I barely made a noise as I pushed him out. (Skip this next part if you're squeamish... but my husband said it just sounded like I had to use the restroom, and that's exactly what it felt like).

At 5:10pm, little Tony came out weighing 5 lbs, 8 oz and measuring 19 in long! They placed him on my chest and he wasn't screaming. Don't freak out! He wasn't screaming, he was just chattering away. He's a very quiet baby. They did all his tests while I was holding him, and my doctor came in to sew up. As soon as she was done, we nursed again, and I was up and walking around. They moved us over to the mommy/baby ward and we started our little family bonding.

I completely shocked the nurses and the doctor who really didn't think I was going to birth that baby - especially that soon.

He defied all odds, this little man. They were thinking he was going to end up in NICU, not be able to nurse, the whole gamut. He never left my side (except for the bath, which they had to do in a warmer because he's a premie), nurses like he's been doing it forever, and passed all of his bloodwork and cultures. He did, however, fail his hearing test. But the administrator of it said that he had a lot of blockage in his ears - common for premies - and once that cleared he'd likely be good. We go in week after next to check him again. He does have some issues with reflux due to the prematurity. But, he's nursing so well that he only lost 3 ounces and we just have to work on making him comfortable. We've been praying, our church has been praying, his godparents have been praying and - this will jinx it - it seems to be working! Tonight, he's not having nearly the issues he was in the hospital!! Praise God!

Audrey came the next day to meet him and loved him. She brought him a balloon and a teddy bear, which she kept. We're working on her being gentle with him, but it's amazing to see her. And she was so calm. She wasn't nearly as worried as she was when I was in labor. She kept saying "It's okay. It's okay. " She just knew it was. Apparently, according to my mother, those were the first words out of her mouth when she woke up that morning. Awwwww. That little girl is amazing.

We had to stay long enough to get all of his blood work back and they released us. The drive home with a premie is the most nerve wrecking thing EVER! He barely fit in the carseat on the smallest setting. He looks like a baby doll! But we're home now and adjusting to our new life as a family of four! Praise God for His mercy, provision and blessing upon my baby! Tony defied all the odds and is just amazing us all!

Why No Pictures?

Because it's stinking freezing, that's why! Don't get me wrong, I love our house and am content that God wants us to stay here for the time being. And I'm thankful that we even have shelter when there are so many who don't. But the next house we get... it's going to be a slab house!!!

We have insulation on the bottom of our house and put a skirting up in the winter to help with the wind that gets under there. Well, it has been so stinking windy (35+ mph) that it has done ZERO to keep the wind from freezing our floors. You could get frost bite walking on them. Well, maybe not really. But it's still cold. Auds is dressed up in socks, a long sleeved onesie, pj's, baby legs on both her arms and her legs and slippers on - all at once. And we've spent most of the time today under the covers on the couch cuddling - well, that part hasn't been so bad.

But it's crazy.

"How crazy is it?" you ask. "It's winter it's supposed to be cold in the winter."

I'll tell you how crazy. Monday, I had the window open. It was in the 70s. Audrey was in a cute little cup cake dress with short sleeves. No cardigan, no tights, no long sleeves. I was even in a (longer than) knee length skirt without leggings, tights or boots. It was glorious.

Yesterday, it went from 69 to 20. That's over 40 degrees in one day! And that's not with the wind chill. Our "feels like" temperature is in the teens. Our high today isn't even freezing. We're in the Deep South for crying out loud!

It's too cold to even clean. That's right. I said it. Not a dish has been washed nor a crumb vacuumed up. I do, however, plan on going on a baking spree when my husband gets home so I can warm up the house.

Global warming, my tush. It's Southern freezing. And our weather is typically in the 60s for this time of year. It ain't right, I tell you.